So part II of our travelogue:) Our next stop was Berlin and boy were we overwhelmed with this metropolis! Even though I’ve traveled to some of the bigger capital cities of the world like Tokyo and Seoul, there is something about Berlin and the way the city is laid out that makes it so vast and spacious. The buildings were huge, the statues were ginormous and the roads stretched so wide (probably for the benefit of the tanks and marching troops in the old days).

Walking around Berlin is like walking through a kaleidoscope of time periods. It’s steeped with old history and yet it bustles with modern art. A normal day in this cosmopolitan city involves stumbling upon monuments or forgotten walls from the world war era and then coming across an indie shop or a graffiti wall brimming with youth art and vibrant colours. I feel like there is always an interesting sight waiting to reveal itself just around the corner!

Come and join us on one of our Berlin walks:)

Next stop France, in my next post. Expect to see a lot of pictures of macarons and pastries:)

I thought I might sketch out a few display ideas, which helps me visualise how I’m going to display my products and also helps me remember the things I need to bring for our Pop-Up shop.

I’m also sharing a window display with Tall Rabbit, Anna Hadwin and inukdesigns and I think all of our products match very well together.

I was inspired by Nicole’s animal cushions and Anna’s crochet critters to draw a garden theme for our window display. Perhaps we could hang Little Mo Garden Postcards across the window and stick cut-out grass and flowers from coloured paper? It would be like school all over again…cutting and sticking things up:)

I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas so that I can share with the girls!

So here’s that project I’ve been working on…

I’ve joined a fabulous team of WA designers who call themselves Montage Collective and…we’re opening a Pop-Up Shop in the city!

I’m really excited to be part of this creative project, so thanks for having me girls!

You may have read about their adventures when they opened two successful Pop-Up shops earlier this year. And now with their third Pop-Up shop opening soon, it’s just great to see the wonderful support they’ve had from the local community and the netizens.

During the weekend, we tented up the ceiling with some muslin fabric sewn by one of the girls! Then the team dusted and cleaned the shop before all the furniture arrived. As you can see, it’s going to be a hectic and crazy week till the shop opens its doors on 18th August!

If you’re in town, do pop in to say hello!! I’ll definitely be there playing shop girl. And you’ll get to see the Little Mo goodies that I’ve been working on!

I will post some shop pics and my works in progress soon but in the mean time, SAVE THE DATE:

Montage Pop-Up Shop
140william cnr Wellington St and William St
Opens 18th August – 23rd October
7 days a week

Rich took me to the cinemas this weekend…and we rarely go to the cinemas because ticket prices in Australia are astoundingly steep. If we do go, it has to be a film that we badly want to see.

So I’ve got to say, Komaneko The Curious Cat is the cutest thing/animal/animation ever! I don’t think I’ve been this excited about a film for a very long time. The only time I was this mad was after watching Spirited Away.

Komaneko is the brainchild of Tsuneo Goda who is also the creator of Domo-kun. Shot in stop-motion style, the film follows Koma’s adventures as she decides to make an animated movie with her 8mm camera (Koma meaning stop frame animation and Neko meaning cat).

During her filmmaking adventures she meets Radi-Bo, a ghost and a Bigfoot-like creature!

As you can see from the stills, the film is utterly adorable. The cute puppetry and endearing story makes it perfect for all ages to watch:) I must now convince my husband to get me a boxset so that I add it to my animation collection!

As promised, I have one last custom portrait to share with you!

Thanks to Lexa, this was a fun one to draw! Lexa loves her octopuses and wanted me to draw her a custom piece in Little Mo style. She sent some samples of her favourite colour swatches; a mix of pink, mauve, burgundy and green tones. She also told me how much she loves oriental flower motifs.

This is my version of Lexa’s octopus surrounded by magical flowers. I’d like to think that such a magical place exists underwater! A bed of flowers, a swimming mouse, floating seaplants and a strange small eyed octopus. Thanks so much Lexa! I hope you find a good spot to hang up your art print!

My Diana Mini is here! Oh the torture I tell you!

I waited and waited for 2 weeks for the postman to bring my new camera, but he never showed up. Then today Richard collected it from the post office and called to let me know. I raced home after work, and rushed through the front door (unashamedly) to open my package! I’m almost embaressed to even blog about this!

It’s so pink! And so cute! And so tiny! I’m utterly and romantically head over heels with my Diana Mini Rose!

For those who haven’t got a clue on what I’m blabbering on about, the Diana Mini is an analogue toy camera from the Lomo camera family. It’s the ‘mini’ version of the normal Diana camera. Unlike the Diana, the Diana Mini shoots on 35mm film only and can take half frame shots and square frame shots. It’s very cute and gimmicky, almost like a fashion accessory really! And like all the Lomo cameras, the photos come out in an explosion of high saturated colours, dark vignette edges and lots of exposed and experimental shots in between. All part of the fun and charm of the Lomo experience!

I can’t wait to start taking photos with it…expect to see a lot of random shots on my blog as I test out my new camera:)

We went to the Kozyndan Opening Show at Outre Gallery. They are a husband and wife team, and are one of my all time favourite artists. Like me, they are also quite bunny obsessed! Their new works had an ocean theme and was simply magical and delightful to see in person!

Rich bought me one of their colouring books and got Kozyndan to sign it. I was super stoked and couldn’t stop smiling the entire night.

If you’re in town, you can catch their ‘Washed Away’ exhibition running from
7 May – 29 May at Outre Gallery, 260 William Street, Northbridge.

Update:
A few months later we went back to Outre Gallery and purchased Kozyndan’s ‘Best Sushi In Town’. It’s the piece which we are standing in front of in the pictures above. We loved it when we first saw it and it always makes a great conversational piece at our dining table!

I think I’m finished with my little bear cat scenario. It looks like they are playing a game of hide and seek in the shrubs!

I’m having so much fun with watercolours at the moment! It reminds me of my school days when we had painting classes, I would sit with my friends and we would paint and chat about silly things.

I think I might do another small painting on Oli’s book before I pass it onto Jan….

Olivier’s book arrived in my mailbox after Karena’s awesome collage work.

I’m super excited to draw on Olivier’s book because he’s rebound his moleskine with watercolour pages, which means I can try using watercolours this time. I’m also very nervous because it has been awhile since I’ve painted and to test it out on Oliver’s book…well…let’s just say it’s all very daunting!

I put on Oli’s chillout playlist yesterday evening, and started flipping through his book to see what I could sketch. I kept coming back to the lady with the look alike bear ears. And before I knew it, I was sketching a bear, and some leaves and flowers, and a cat sticking out of the shrubbery!

I’ve started adding colours to this shrubbery madness…

I will post more pictures when I’m finished!

My little octi is finished! I coloured him while chatting with mum on skype, so thanks for keeping me company mum.